The Answer
by debs o.0
Summary: SEQUEL TO "Oh shit!"... It was supposed to be a simple mission, then how did they end up in this situation? Moreover how is it possible for a single mission to change so many things? romance/adventure/humor... prequel is up :)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there! So yeah this is the sequel to "Oh shit!"**

**Hope you enjoy it…**

**Review **

* * *

Kunai.

_Checked. _

Shuriken.

_Checked._

Bandages.

_Checked._

Soldier pills.

_Checked. _

Antidotes to the most common poisons.

_Checked._

Change of clothes.

_Probably unnecessary, but checked._

Well it looked as if she had everything she needed. To say she wasn't nervous would be a total lie; as a matter of fact she had had problems getting asleep the night before.

She took a deep breath and took the mission scroll rereading the whole thing to be sure she had everything she needed.

**Rank:** C  
**Type:** Escort  
**Client:** Kanpachi Raiga  
**Briefing: **the client is a merchant who invests in textile fabric, he is to be taken to the Hidden Valley Village in River Country. The protection has been requested in fear of bandits possibly attacking him during his journey back home.

Well it was a fairly easy mission, there should be no problem in completing it – at this point she should have realized she just jinxed it, but anyway. She closed her backpack, secured her leg holster and strode out of her apartment locking the door behind herself. Then she turned and with her back to the door she took a deep breath and started towards the village's gates.

Once she got there she was met with the cause of her nervousness. The three chunins she was in charge of for this mission: Akemi Hyuuga, Daichi Aburame and Kouki Watanabe.

Taking another deep breath she introduced herself "Good morning. I'm Sakura Haruno, jounin and the current Hokage's apprentice. I will be your team captain for this mission, as a substitute for your team leader who is unable to attend to his duties today"

"Yeah. Or he finds it too _troublesome_ to complete this _troublesome_ mission with _troublesome_ us" Akemi Hyuuga grumbled rolling her eyes, Daichi Aburame merely nodded his head in confirmation while Kouki Watanabe grinned at the words of his teammate. And Sakura too couldn't help but smirk herself at the spot-on description of Shikamaru; then she composed herself again and continued "As you should already know: your mission consists of escorting our client Kanpachi Raiga to his home in River Country and make sure nothing befalls on him during the journey. Any questions?"

"I have one" Daichi said quietly "Where _is_ Raiga-san?"

"We are to pick him up at the inn just outside Konoha" Sakura informed smiling slightly "Are we ready to go?". As the kids nodded in confirmation she turned towards the gates and , feeling the excitement that built before all her missions, she grinned "Let the mission be started."

* * *

In the hour Sakura and the kids spent to reach the inn Sakura had already gotten the basics of this teams characteristics: for one, Akemi Hyuuga was a living contradiction. As a Hyuuga she held the typical characteristics of the clan, such as a mysterious beauty and a way of carrying herself that showed her proud heritage and innate grace, on the other side, for what regarded her personality, she was nothing like a Hyuuga, on the opposite, she could be described as a female, more moderate, version of Naruto, if her big loud mouth and sunny smiles were of any indication.

Daichi was a typical Aburame, all silence and detached attitude with their long coats and hidden eyes, although she had to admit that he struck her as a more sociable guy than Shino – the only other Aburame she knew on a more personal level – she hadn't yet decided if this was due to Akemi's natural ability to make people come out of their shell or if it was an innate personal characteristic.

But the one that rose her attention the most was the shy Kouki Watanabe. He hadn't spoken a word from when they had departed, not even with his team, and while it didn't look like this caused by a problem between the group, seeing as the other two automatically included Kouki in all their discussions, she noticed it was Kouki who seemed to distance_ himself_ from the other two, keeping his walls up.

'Interesting team dynamics' Sakura thought as she stopped before the inn and sent the inn keeper to fetch their charge.

After some minutes a bald men, looking around his 60s came out of said inn with an irritated face "Your early!" was his greetings. 'Oh great! This is just starting the right way! Strange team and annoying charge!" Sakura thought as she smiled politely towards the man, choosing to ignore his statement "Raiga-san, I am Haruno Sakura, team captain of this mission, these are the genin assigned to you for your journey" each one introduced himself – 'he speaks!' Sakura thought as Kouki introduced himself quietly – "We will see that you and your precious package reach home unscathed"

"What?!" the old man screeched "They assigned kids to look after my safety?"

Sakura was starting to feel irked but before she could answer Akemi's smart mouth preceded her "We are capable enough to protect you, old man! I'd be wary of my words if I were you" all that with an added Hyuuga-glare.

Swiftly Sakura turned around and shot a glare herself towards the girl before she could add anything more, and then said "What Akemi meant, Raiga-san, is that the hokage appoints just the right ninja to the right missions, there is no mistake, so rest assured, you are in very _capable_ hands" she turned around with a dangerous smile that promised pain for everyone who'd dare correct her.

And so the mission began.

* * *

It would take approximately a day to reach River Country, possibly one and a half seeing as their charge was being very uncooperative – because taking pauses every half an hour was definitely not being cooperative – still Sakura used one of these pauses to take Akemi aside and have a word or two with her "Listen, and listen well. I will not tolerate any such display of disrespect and arrogance on this mission; I don't know how you work with Shikamaru, but I will have none of this nonsense. He is our client and as much as an ass he may be, we are paid by him, and I know it can be insufferable – believe me _I know_ – but you'll have to suck it up. You will tolerate and respect and ignore, because being a ninja also means hiding one's true feelings and putting up a façade. I'll let this one slide, but one more such episode, from _any_ of you, will gain you a report to the hokage, I'll personally see you'll be assigned at garbage picking for the next year, so you'll learn some humility. Am I clear?"

All that was spoken with an eerie calm, and Akemi immediately understood that under the façade of a petite and sweet girl, the ninja was always present, and there was no kidding with her. Shikamaru-sensei was a much more laid off teacher, but now she understood that the liberty with which they spoke would not be tolerated by everyone. With Sakura-sensei it seemed she was an easy going person and one with whom you could joke in private, but there was no kidding with the mission.

"Yes Sakura-sensei" Akemi answered with a lowered head.

Sakura smiled and feeling a bit of remorse at being so hard with the kid she elaborated with a softer voice "You have to understand, I've seen a lot of missions going the bad way because one was more focused on silly things then on the mission. This is a job Akemi-chan, your priority is to see to the success of the mission, and it won't always be enjoyable. on the contrary, it only gets riskier and more serious. But nothing beats the feeling of having succeeded your clients expectations, as well as your superiors" Sakura smiled.

She managed to lift the girls mood who smiled in return and went to inform his teammates. As she watched the girl strode away a strange feeling came over her and she looked left and right; expanding her senses she couldn't detect any danger, yet she could swear she had been watched.

* * *

As they stopped for the night Sakura sighed again. It wasn't possible. They could not have another five hours of walking to do in the morning, they should have been able to reach their destination by dawn; as it was now they'd probably get there by the afternoon.

As the kids set camp, Sakura noticed Raiga-san checking his bag, as if making sure everything was inside it. As far as she knew the only thing he was transporting were his selling records and the money he had made in Konoha, but his gaze was much too nervous.

"Raiga-san, is everything alright?" Sakura asked to test his reaction.

Kanpachi jumped and turned with a glare "Yes! Mind your own business ninja-san!"

Sakura's eye twitched but she bent her head in acknowledgement all the same. Her interest was piqued, she'd have to present the matter to Tsunade-shishou when she got back home.

After eating dinner Kanpachi went to sleep, with his backpack tight in his arms, and Sakura organised the night watch. The order was Akemi, Daichi and Kouki, obviously she would stay alert through all the turns.

As Kouki was guarding the camp, she decided to confront the child. "Hey" she smiled; the kid looked up at her and with a small smile nodded his head in greeting, then turned around again, watching the night.

"What's up with you?" Sakura asked "I don't know you well, but I sense some kind of tension between you and your teammates. Well, mostly coming from you" she noticed as his eyes went wide and then were cast down. As only silence met her she tried again "You can talk to me, I might be able to help you. This situation isn't benefitting your team, you know? Is there a problem between the three of you?"

After a bit of hesitation Kouki murmured "I'm not like them. I come from a civilian family, I have no special ability or anything like that. I don't even know why they put me on the team".

Oh! So that was what the problem was all about. She felt her heart constrict at the familiar emotion she now recognised in the child's face. She thought a few second on how to approach the subject. She refrained from pointing out that usually weaker links were put together with stronger characters, to keep teams balanced; instead she said "I come from a civilian family too, that hasn't stopped me from chasing after my teammates and achieving my own goals. I understand being teamed with two people coming from very well-known clans might be imposing and hard , but you just have to be a team and try to understand what_ your_ abilities are, which will most probably be very different than that of your teammates, but they will complement each other all the same. Have faith in yourself, in the teachers who put your team together – who had very good reason to do so – and in your team leader, who is a very smart man and is most probably already thinking up a way to make your abilities come out and to potentiate them. You have great teammates who cherish and accept you for what you are. You should be glad" she smiled feeling the truth in her own words; she remembered how hard it had been for her to get over the fact that she was Team 7's weak link, and how liberating it was now to fight on par with them.

She watched smiling as the kid's face lit up in hope, but as he was about to tell her something all her senses were on alert. She put a hand on his mouth and without even sparing him a glance she scanned her surroundings. Swiftly, recognising the danger she teleported herself and the kid at the centre of camp and signalled him to wake the others.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here Raiga-san? Some children and a girl protecting you? Do you really underestimate me that much or are you simply trying to trick me?"

She turned around to face the danger. She scrutinized the two ninja in front of her, and suddenly she realized one of them was strangely familiar, still she couldn't put her finger on where she had seen him or who he was.

But Daichi did.

"You!" he exclaimed suddenly "Sakura-sensei. He's the one who worked at the inn. The one who went and called Raiga-san."

Sakura's eyes light up in understanding; of course! How stupid of her, she should have checked the employee too, obviously he had been delivering info to his pal, who had conveniently waited until the right moment to strike, namely when the target was too far from Konoha to get help; on the other hand how could she have known? They were still in Konoha, and it was a C rank, so the most she had expected had been some bandits on the road, simply an occasion to have the kids train with real enemies; but by the look of it, this was all a set up. This was no coincidence: the spy had followed specifically Raiga-san, and his mate had practically affirmed that he was after him… and that Takatsuki was well aware of it.

Her eyes momentarily shifted on her clients panicked face. He had a lot of explaining to do once they got out of this mess.

_If_ they got out of this mess.

Now back on the more pressing matter.

The spy looked barely chunin level, he had an air around him that screamed misplaced arrogance; he probably was one of those big mouthed guys that couldn't demonstrate their words through action. He'd be a piece of cake for her, she'd let him get sure of himself and once he was close enough she would strike at a pressure point and he'd have his body paralyzed in a matter of seconds.

The other guy, on the other hand, looked like an S-class criminal, his forehead protector showed a slashed River sign. He was a tough guy, it'd be hard enough for her to keep up with him even without the need to protect the others. The better course of action would be to eliminate the spy first so as to concentrate on the actual danger and not have the kids fight, but any attack on him would leave an opening for the other to strike at the children and Raiga-san.

What to do?

She turned around and in hushed tones ordered "Kouki, Daichi, try to keep the spy at bay,for as long as you can, as soon as I'm able to, I'll come to eliminate him, in the meanwhile act like a team, use your head and protect Raiga-san. Akemi the same goes for you, but I'm entrusting you with Raiga-san's safety, while they fight actively I want you to give your input by mainly checking your surroundings; inform them on what they're missing and check that we don't receive other company." A collective "Hai" was her answer.

She focused her attention back on the enemy who was now grinning openly at her, challenging her at trying to overpower him. Sakura's competitive side came to life: she'd teach him to never underestimate his opponent. She kept her calm, this was all about using her head and having a good timing.

Snatching Raiga-san's bag – his "Hey" was completely ignored by the rest of the crew – she sent a wink towards her opponent "Catch me" and with that she disappeared.

* * *

"You should give me that bag, little girl"

"Yeah… I don't think so" Sakura smirked swinging the bag on her shoulder and preparing for her plan "So who are you? Just so I know what name to put on your grave after I kill you"

Suddenly he was behind her and stabbing her with a kunai "The name's Aku Kawaguchi. Just to be clear I'm telling you this because you won't be able to breathe in a few seconds" Sakura gasped in pain.

Aku smirked and made a start towards the bag, only to jump away to evade the girls punch coming from his left. A shadow clone, not bad.

They were once again studying each other. Sakura was the first to break the silence "I've actually heard of you. You're a thief. What do you want from a mere merchant?"

And to her dismay he started laughing "What, he didn't tell you about the armband? That explains a lot, for one why there are amateurs defending him"

Sakura decidedly refused to take the bait and ignored his provocation "What armband?"

Aku laughed again, and without answering he formed a series of hand signs. Sakura observed as drops of water raised in the air from the vegetation, how they took the form of needles and suddenly went flying against her; hastily she made her own hand signs and seconds away from being hit a wall of earth raised around for protection; she had never been so thankful for training with Yamato-sensei.

Getting out of her shelter she came to be face to face with her enemy's; their eyes locked and as hers widened, he smirked, deciding to have some fun he punched her hard in the face sending her flying against a three. Hopping near her he tugged the backpack away from her, taking advantage Sakura's momentary dizziness.

Watching the girl recover at his feet he wondered on how he should be finishing her. Quickly? Or could he have some fun? He turned his head and noticed his companion wasn't having any problem. Reinforcements would appear soon, but that wasn't his problem, he had what he wanted, the stupid boy shouldn't have expected him to share the treasure with him. He turned his head towards the crawling girl. He'd have his fun and then he'd leave his "mate" to deal with ANBU.

So he placed a well-aimed kick on Sakura's stomach, revelling on the moan of pain that came from her. "My grave you said?" he threw a kunai so that it embedded itself in her hand, pinning it on the ground "I believe this place will become _your_ grave. Not that I'm digging you one" her screams of pain were a joy for his ears. With another kunai he stabbed the other hand over the first, while she attempted to release it.

Horror filled eyes turned towards him "No… Please, don't"

He smirked "Oh yes" and aimed a kunai at her heart.

* * *

Akemi's eyes were starting to burn from overuse, and her broken leg didn't help much, the stupid client had to go try and make a run for his life; obviously that meant free target, had it not been for her pushing him away he would have been dead by now. She took a glance at her teammates, who weren't really in better condition than her: Kouki had burns all over and Daichi's bugs were significantly depleted.

She knew they couldn't hold a fight against such an enemy for much longer, and wished Sakura-sensei would appear to save them. She was proud of her boys, they had done a wonderful job, with her help also, but it was the end.

As she thought this, Honda – the spy – appeared before her, evading Kouki's and Daichi's attacks; he grinned and raised his kunai, aiming to kill.

Then. At that moment a flash of pink materialized behind him and Akemi noticed how Honda's eyes widened in panic and then dimmed before slumping on the ground, his eyes dimming as life left his body.

The kids smiled and started to cheer at the victory but Sakura cut them short, panting she ordered "You will take the package – she gave it to Daichi – and Raiga-san to the village. It should be only 4 hours from here if you hurry. I know you're tired, but get there as soon as possible, when you're there contact the hokage, tell her what happened and give her my actual position. I'll hold this one off for as long as I can to give you enough time to save yourself. Now, go!"

She knew they were about to protest but it was too late. Dreading what she would see, she turned around and faced a very angry Aku.

"Genjutsu, huh? You will pay for playing me, little bitch"

This would be hard. That genjutsu had been a powerful one, one that had taken up a lot of energy to keep up, she was strong, but it would have been hard even if she didn't give up so much chakra to have the time to kill the spy; with the condition she was in now, she knew there were few chances that she would get out alive of this, but she'd be damned if she didn't buy enough time for her team to flee.

As she prepared to flee and get him as much away from her companions as possible, something shifted.

He wasn't looking at her anymore. Moreover he had a startled look on his face, one that soon turned into panic.

Sakura watched baffled as he opened his pouch, got out some kunai with attached explosive tags and threw them towards the threes.

All at once the clearing in which they were was filled with deafening explosions, smoke and flying branches. When Sakura opened her eyes she found her group surrounded by four cloaked figures. All with a mask except for one whose face looked familiar, but Sakura couldn't remember who he was, except the obvious belonging to the Uchiha clan.

ANBU! What were ANBU doing here? How did they got to know of the trouble so fast?

Aku decided the risk wasn't worth the price, so he fled; strangely believing he had a chance at surviving.

The ANBU captain nodded towards two of his companions, who nodded back before disappearing themselves after the missing ninja. All was quiet as said ANBU captain turned around, still in silence and assessed the situation. The moment was broken by his teammate who exclaimed "Look who we have here!" smiling towards Sakura "Sakura-chan! What a pleasant surprise!"

Sakura suddenly remembered who he was. Of course. Shisui Uchiha. The only Uchiha with a sunny attitude. Though she couldn't quite understand why he was being so friendly; they had only met a few times before and never actually engaged in conversation.

Then all became clear.

"Hey! Itachi! Say something! Aren't you happy?"

Sakura's eyes widened and turned towards the ANBU captain, who was lifting his mask with a sigh, to reveal deep onyx eyes "This is against protocol, Shisui"

"Oh who cares about protocol! My mask has broken during the explosions and she would have figured everything out anyway"

Itachi didn't dignify that statement with an answer, he's have to talk to his cousin later about his suspicion that he had deliberately dropped his mask as soon as he had recognised who was leading the team. Instead he turned and regarded Sakura with a thoughtful look "Sakura"

Her heart stopped beating all at once at how her name came out of his mouth, and then started thumping loudly, as if it was trying to get out of her chest; the things that voice could do "Itachi" she murmured in answer.

She didn't notice the wondering gazes of her team, impressed by the fact that she knew the famous and unapproachable Itachi Uchiha, not only that: they were on a first name basis. Akemi though had a much more calculating look, and at the oblivious gazes of her teammates she sighed "You two are _so_ slow"

That murmur was enough to break the spell and Sakura quickly disengaged from the staring contest she was having with the man who had confessed to her and who she had been avoiding since then. She wasn't usually one to avoid confrontations or problems, but this time she really couldn't bring herself to confront him on the matter.

Regaining control on her mind she turned around "Come here. Let me see your wounds" she invited the three chunins. Daichi was practically unscathed, although he was putting up a strong front, pretending it didn't matter, she knew he was devastated by the loss of so many of his bugs, Kouki had severe burns all over his arms and legs, some of which caused his shirt to get attached to his burnt skin, and Akemi was dealing with the pain caused by her broken leg.

She patted Daichi on the head "I know it's hard. I don't have such a relationship with animals as those of your clan have, but I understand this situation is upsetting for you. It's alright to grief, we are humans. As ninja we may have to hide our feelings, but that doesn't mean we don't feel at all." And she smiled as his eyebrows knitted together, and she guessed that behind his glasses his eyes were tearing up. Then she turned towards Kouki and assessed he situation "I'll heal the most painful ones but we need clean warm water and a bed to completely heal you. So I guess we'll stop at the Hidden Valley Village for the night, you all deserve a good night of sleep and rest after the day you've had."

As soon as she finished on Kouki's burns she turned around intent on healing Akemi's leg when her sight suddenly faltered and she nearly lost balance. The next thing she felt was a warm, comforting hand grab her elbow and steady her "I think they're not the only one who need a good night of rest it seems. Your chakra reserves are dangerously low" Itachi's voice murmured in her ear sending shivers down her back.

But she was headstrong, she freed her arm from his grasp and huffed "I have to at least numb her pain" with that said she hovered over the girl and brushed her leg with her hand sending chakra through it; then she gave the kid a little bottle "This is an extract of arnica, it will lessen the pain even more" she said gently.

Akemi smiled tiredly.

Shisui opened his mouth again "We're getting you back to the village. I say we should start walking, so we'd be there by late afternoon." Then he leaned down to let Akemi – who started blushing – climb on his back.

Sakura hadn't really realized that the fight had taken up most of their morning. She agreed with Shisui, although they were all tired it would be best to be in the safe grounds of the village as soon as possible, and then rest properly there.

They started walking but paused after not even an hour to eat. It wouldn't do good, with their chakra exhaustion to skip meals. Only after having filled her stomach Sakura was able to fully process what had happened, and noticed that Raiga had stayed silent since the attack, making himself as inconspicuous as possible. All at once her suspicions came at her.

"Raiga-san" his jump was a tell-tale "Would you like to explain to us what that all was about? Aku Kawaguchi was after you personally and you knew it" her clipped tone made the old man gulp, but no word came out of his mouth.

"I can answer that Sakura" Itachi moved beside her as they all walked towards their destination "Hokage-sama has had a visit yesterday by a seller in Konoha, who…"

Shisui interrupted "Who had sold some peculiar type of cloth to a merchant from River Country. What got him on his toes was that soon after he was brutally interrogated on said merchant by a certain Aku Kawaguchi. Sound a bell?"

Sakura was too tired to listen to his loud voice and rubbed her forehead at the incoming headache she was feeling.

"So Tsunade-sama investigated the matter and it turned out Raiga-san has important ties to the River daimyo" Kanpachi cringed, realizing he had been discovered. Sakura swayed a little, but she didn't falter in her steps, for suddenly a hand was discretely positioned on her lower back; she turned towards Itachi, locking her gaze with his for the first time since she had interrupted their staring contest; he had positioned himself slightly behind her so that to the others in front of them it would look as if he was walking a few paces behind her, but in truth he was lending her his support , without making it known to the others. She debated for a while if she should move away, but that hand was too comforting, and she really felt as if she was about to fall down – and secretly, she liked the way his hand trailed across her back.

"So she contacted the daimyo and found out he commissioned Raiga-san here, an armband decorated with very rare and expensive stones, which have the property of storing and channelling chakra. It seems he assembled said armband in Konoha, since he needed this particular kind of cloth, and then ordered a _C-rank_ protection. She immediately sent our squad to capture Aku Kawaguchi, well known S-class missing ninja, and escort you home"

Sakura was immediately distracted from the hand on her back and turned with furious eyes towards her client "He what?! I don't believe you! I can't stand it when something like this happens! You people really need to learn to rank missions accordingly to their level of dangerousness, not accordingly to how much money you're going to spend on it. Merchants! Tch! The hokage will do something about this, and compensation for these team's efforts and damages will be required. Be prepared to pay a large amount of money"

Her outburst took some of her energy, and she sagged a bit against Itachi's hand breathing in, so to regain a bit of energy and composure. The rest of the trip was made in silence, most of them too tired to talk – Akemi had fallen asleep on Shisui's back – Raiga-san knew any word from him would raise a ruckus and Itachi was simply one of those who enjoyed the silence.

That left Shisui without a chatting partner.

* * *

Sakura didn't even know how she ended up in the hotel, but the next thing she knew she was lying down on her bed and falling asleep next to Akemi.

She woke up a few hours later, deep in the night, noticing Akemi was missing. She didn't panic though, she felt her chakra signature in the next room, along with Kouki's and Daichi's; taking a look at the clock she noticed it was half past one in the morning, she had had five hours sleep or so, which was approximately the amount of hours on which she survived daily.

She stood up, bent on checking her team.

What she saw when she opened the door to the room next to hers melted her heart.

Akemi was squashed between Kouki and Daichi. The kids had obviously had a pyjama party and had joined the two beds so as to sleep together. The whole scene reminded her of some of team 7's nights; they did the same thing when they were genin, and even now they sometimes met at one's house and had slumber parties. Such as the fateful night in which she used Itachi's window as an escape route.

She neared the group and without waking them she fixed Akemi's leg and finished healing Kouki's burns. Then, still with a smile on her face, she closed the door and returned to her room. She guessed Itachi and Shisui had roomed with Raiga-san to check on him.

She opened her door wondering if she'd be able to get some more sleep, knowing fully well that the chances of that happening were very slim. Closing the door behind herself, she turned around and froze when she saw a figure sitting on her window, one leg propped up and the other dangling down from it. As she recognised him she drew in a big breath in relief, putting a hand on her chest feeling how her heart was beating erratically.

"Kami! Itachi! You just scared the living daylights out of me! What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed, panting, of course being an ANBU and all, she hadn't felt his chakra, and she knew she should have had better nerves, but coming to her room and finding someone without feeling the slightest hint he was there wasn't exactly a walk in the park, especially not after the day they had had.

She watched as he unfolded himself from the windowsill and elegantly straightened up, still he didn't say anything, he merely gazed at her, seeming in deep thought.

She stared back in silence, waiting for him to talk or do anything at all.

But as the minutes passed away she grew more and more restless, until she couldn't stand the situation anymore and tried again "Itachi? Is there something wrong? Why are you here?"

Finally he reacted. His previous expressionless eyes warmed up with some strange emotion, it looked as if he was amused, he took a step towards her "You didn't give me an answer" and took another step forward.

Sakura suddenly found herself thinking that maybe the previous situation was better than this one. She was feeling hunted, as if she was a prey; and as much as she tried not to show her nervousness she consciously took a step backwards, matching his pace, trying to maintain the distance between them "What are you talking about?"

His eyes didn't look as amused now. On the contrary they narrowed at her trying to play oblivious, but he had no problem addressing the matter directly. He wasn't his brother, he knew what he wanted and went for it, no shame, no embarrassment, no second thoughts "I'm talking about me courting you. I said I'd give you time to consider it, and that I'd be waiting for your answer. So here I am." He said taking another step towards her.

She matched his step just to find herself against the door "I haven't really thought about it. I haven't come to a conclusion yet".

And then he was centimetres from her "Our 'talk' was a month ago. I think that's plenty of time to think it over. I've been restraining myself to give you space and time, but I'd have ended up on your door steps in a week anyway" he breathed across her face, and she shivered ad that contact. They were so close she could smell the scent of soap and water – he must've just had a shower – ; she was frozen, it felt as if he was restraining her, yet they weren't touching in any way. Except for his breath, that was caressing her face and seemed to suffocate her and make her lightheaded at the same time.

"But… But I don't get it!" she exclaimed, finding her brain somewhere in her skull and getting it to work again "I mean, we barely know each other, even when we are in the same room we exchange not much more than pleasantries. How can you say you're interested in me? Or is it just a physical relationship you're after? Why are you asking to court me?"

His eyes narrowed more, but now they were more contemplative than irritated. She wanted to know the reasons that drew him? She wanted a proclamation of love? It wasn't his style. At all. On the other hand, he already said it, he got what he wanted, one way or the other. If a speech was what she needed to finally accept his courting… then so be it: she' d have her confession.

Lifting a hand he put it beside her head, to rest his weight on the door and lean more over her; catching her gaze he stated "I've been interested in you for a long time. At first it was mild curiosity, you caught my eye, and you were my brother's teammate; but then you started to change, and that was when you gradually pulled me in: you grew stronger, more independent,_ so_ stubborn and so much more self-assured; you were fascinating. I can't pin point the exact moment I developed romantic feelings towards you or when I would have acted upon them, but I can tell for sure that your cute pyjama helped a lot" he finished with a smirk.

She blushed profusely, part for his closeness, part for his touching speech – it really seemed as if it wasn't a simple thing on the spur of the moment, he had thought about her for long time – and part out of embarrassment at the remind her of that night.

Still she didn't answer. Now she couldn't find her voice.

Finally._ Finally_ Itachi closed the distance and put his other hand on her waist, drawing imaginary circles there with his thumb, before sliding the hand on her back and with a firm move he pinned her against his body, creating space between the door and herself. Leaning even lower he let his lips hover over hers and locking her gaze he purred "So… do _you_ want _me_?"

Sakura felt like a mouse between the claws of a cat, she couldn't see an emergency exit and still wasn't able to make up her mind, as it was filled with confusing thoughts "I… I… I…"

He swiftly pushed her against the door again, this time with his body pinning her against it, touching her from tights to chest, the hand on the door travelled down and found position on the back of her neck –exactly where he had held her a month ago – and inched her face closer to his "Yes or no?"

This was it. This was the moment. She still wasn't sure how this thing between them would turn out, but she felt that they had some sort of special connection, and she was willing to explore the possibilities of them being together. She just felt running away now would be a great mistake.

Oh, damn it all!

With a swift move she closed the distance between their lips and kissed him with all she got. If he was surprised by her move, he didn't show it, instead he tightened his hold on her taking control of the kiss, deepening it. His teeth tugged; his tongue followed with a soothing caress. Sakura gasped at his bold move. He took advantage immediately, fastening his mouth to hers, his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth.

There was nothing else but his mouth claiming hers, taking her into another world she hadn't known existed. The ground shifted, and Sakura clutched at his shoulders to keep from floating away. He parted from her with small kisses on her bruised lips, then descended down her jaw to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses that made her shiver in delight.

Making his way upwards again, he stopped to nip at her earlobe, and whispered to her "I'll take that as a yes. But know this: now that you've given consent to my courtship, you're mine. There will be nowhere you'll be able to run to, I will not let you leave me."

As much as those words should have frightened her, and make her doubt her decision, she felt the exact opposite. It was strangely reassuring, the possessiveness in his voice.

Yes, she decided, she had made the right choice, she thought as Itachi resumed in his earlier activity of reducing her to a puddle of Sakura flavoured jelly.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Not many understood how the hospital could have such a calming effect on Sakura, but it did.

At that moment she stood in front of the window of her office, watching outside, thinking about how a single mission could change and make people grow so much, in particular thinking about that fateful mission that bought her to a better knowledge of herself and to a new chapter in her life.

Said chapter appeared right at that moment behind her – as usual she didn't have the slightest hint he was about to come, but at this point she had just gotten used to it – and wrapped his arms around her middle, drawing her against his chest "What are you thinking about?" he whispered on her skin, taking pride in her responding shiver.

She smiled leaning her head against his shoulder "About life and its strange ways. About the night we got together" she grinned up at him, knowing that he, just like her, would never forget that night, the kisses, their talks until morning, the cuddling in her bed, the serene silence as they basked in each other's presence.

He turned her around in his arms, slightly smirking "Shall I help you remember?" and without waiting for her answer he swept down, claiming her lips, revelling in the feel of her hands as they clenched into his hair.

To ruin the moment, the door suddenly flew open to reveal one pineapple head.

As the man saw the compromising position the two ninja found themselves into he muttered "Troublesome" under his breath; then straightened up anyway and proceeded with what he came there to say "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to say: whatever you told my students, thank you very much, you saved a lot of troublesome work for me. Feel free to have a go at them whenever you feel like it." Scratching his head in obvious annoyance at the situation he found himself in, he concluded "Well, by all means, continue." And awkwardly exited the office.

The couple stood there dumbfounded, but soon enough Itachi started chuckling while Sakura became red in embarrassment "Shit! It was supposed to stay secret for a while more!"

Itachi nudged her nose with his "He probably had it all already figured out anyway, no need to fret"

And he went down to catch her lips again, burying his hands in her shirt.

"Mhm… Itachi! What are you doing?!"

"Didn't you hear him? He said 'continue' "

"Itachi!"

**Review please **

**That's the end of it, how was it? Is there something I should improve? Somehow I don't feel completely satisfied. was there enough fluff? Give me your opinion... **

**This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written, do you think I should break it and make a two-shot out of it? For better reading purposes I mean… or is it ok to leave it at this length?**

**Look out for a prequel! I'm thinking of writing about the window episode :) **** , although it will most probably be much shorter than this turned out to be…. I don't even know where all of this came from, I just kept on writing "-.-**

**Just a few facts:**

**Akemi means "bright" and "beautiful"**

**Daichi means "great wisdom" (I don't know why I chose this one, it seemed to fit the character at first)**

**Kouki means "light" or "happiness" combined with "hope" or "radiance, shine".**

**Aku means evil (I know, obvious) kawaguchi means mouth of the river (obvious here too, I know -.- **** :) )**

**Fav&Follow&Review please:)**


	2. prequel

**prequel is up :)  
**

**it's called 'The Window Accident'**

** be sure to read it if you want to know how naruto wanted to cut sakura's hair and laugh a bit hopefully ;)**

**xo -debs**


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